Dragons on Candy Mountain
by shoesofgold
Summary: What happens when Charlie Weasley takes an unexpected trip? Story based on the Harry Potter series as well as the everpopular Charlie the Unicorn. I do not claim any ownership. Please don't sue me. Really.


_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

It was five o'clock in the morning. Charlie Weasley opened his eyes reluctantly, but did not get up. His muscles still ached from working late last night, and he was not in a hurry to leave the comfort of his bed. I the distance, he could hear the shouts of a dozen wizards and a couple of witches as morning greetings were made, and spells were cast. Farther still, he could hear the low growls of hungry dragons.

This was an average morning in Charlie Weasley's life. After all, it was his job to work with dragons, both wild and tame. At the moment, he was in Romania, where he had been studying and interacting with Norwegian Ridgebacks for several years. It was a rough job, but it was what he loved to do.

Most of the dragons they observed were in their natural habitat, but a few younger ones were kept in a large fireproof paddock; most of them were abandoned babies that had been found in their nests. As Charlie reached the paddock entrance, he heaved the huge sack of dead animals off of his shoulder and set it down. He cast the "Alohamora" charm on the heavy door, and then dragged the sack over to the nearest dragon.

"Good morning, Norbert," he called as the dragon let out a jet of flame, pleased to see him. This particular dragon had been previously owned by none other that Rubbeus Hagrid. Charlie threw him a few small mammals, and was ready to move on to the others, when…

"Hey there, Charlie!"

Charlie looked around, and then waved at the man coming toward him. "Hi, John. What are you doing over here? Shouldn't you be tending to that wounded female?"

"Henry's covering for me. I was sent to give you a message."

Charlie set down the sack he had lifted over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

John gave Norbert a friendly pat, pulling his ungloved hand away just in time. "Yeah. It seems there are a few stray unicorns hanging around that nest we found last week. Bob thinks they might set the mother off again, and we'd rather avoid that. I'm no good with prancing things, myself, but I told him you might be able to-

"Sure, no problem," Charlie answered quickly. "I'll head over there now." He slipped back out the door he had entered from and headed directly for the forest. He'd rather get this over with as soon as possible.

The distance from the paddock to the forest wasn't long, but the nest was pretty far in, and Charlie was sweating by the time he reached the approximate spot. He stopped for a moment to listen, but he didn't hear anything. He decided the best plan would be to sit quietly and wait. They were sure to appear sooner or later. He looked around for a comfortable spot, and settled on a grassy spot beneath a large shady tree. The afternoon was warm, and the breeze felt good on his face. He settled down between to roots, and before long, Charlie had fallen asleep.

_Wake up, Charlie._

Charlie moaned softly, but did not open his eyes.

_Yeah, Charlie, wake up!_

He could not ignore it this time. He couldn't ignore it this time. His eyes flickered open, and as the scenery came into focus, he sat up with a start. He had forgotten that he was lying in the middle of a dragon forest. His grassy bed had been so comfortable; it almost felt like his bed at home. And that voice… who's voice was…?

_Candy Mountain!_

Charlie whipped his head around so fast he nearly snapped his neck. He jumped again when he saw where the voice had come from. Standing right beside him were two unicorns, pink and blue, and sporting ridiculous identical grins.

Hang on… unicorns couldn't talk! Charlie opened his mouth, and then closed it. Finally, he cleared his throat and mumbled, "C-candy… Candy Mountain?"

The blue unicorn smiled even wider. _Yes, Charlie, we found a map to Candy Mountain. _

Charlie's eyes widened in shock. "You… can talk?"

The pink one was smiling now. _Yeah, Charlie, we're going to Candy Mountain. Come with us, Charlie._

Charlie stared.

_Yeah, Charlie, it'll be an adventure. We're going on an adventure, Charlie._

Charlie stared. This was not right. Unicorns cannot talk. Unicorns are not pink and blue. Still, he had to do something. "Well you know, mates, I…ah… I've got some dragons, see, so I'd really better get back and- AHH!" He broke off as the blue unicorn jumped right over him, and then back again, leaping and circling like some demented one-horse merry-go-round.

_No, Charlie! You have to come with us to Candy Mountain!_

The pink one grinned. _It's a land of sweets and joy! And joyness._

"All right!" Charlie gasped, holding his arms over his head. The blue unicorn stopped bouncing and stood beside the pink one, staring expectantly. Charlie thought for a moment. Obviously something strange was going on here. On the one hand, it could be dangerous. On the other hand, he'd be in trouble if they stayed so close to the dragon's nest. And they were just unicorns, right?

"Ok." He said finally. I'll go with you to…" He broke off. He couldn't say it. He may have been confused about a lot of things at the moment, but there was certainly no place called Candy Mountain.


End file.
